THE future of the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup will be on the line on Tuesday as European rugby’s power brokers start crunch talks in Dublin.

English and French clubs say teams like Leinster have it too easy in the Heineken Cup

THE future of European rugby will not begin to take shape until at least next month despite "productive" talks between the game's powerbrokers.

Today's meeting in Dublin was called after English and French clubs served notice they intend to quit the current Heineken Cup following next season’s competitions unless a new deal can be hammered out to satisfy their demands.

If they carry out their threat it would have major repercussions for the future of professional rugby in Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy, with a loss of a vital income stream.

France wants European tournaments to conclude each April so its Top 14 Championship can take precedence afterwards.

England’s Aviva Premiership clubs want three European competitions, beginning during the 2014-15 campaign with two concentrated on existing top-level European rugby, plus a tournament for teams from emerging nations like Spain, Russia and Portugal.

An ERC statement confirmed rugby chiefs, including Regional Rugby Wales representative Stuart Gallacher, will meet again in Rome on October 4.

The statement read: "The meeting included productive discussions regarding the future of the club game in Europe with a general resolve among all stakeholders to reach agreement towards a new Accord.

"It was decided that all parties would continue the consultative process at a meeting in Rome on 8 October 2012.

"With the objective of creating an opportunity for a positive outcome for European club competitions, it was agreed that there would be limited comment from stakeholders at this time.

"The current Accord, which was agreed by all stakeholders in 2007, includes a provision for parties to confirm their intention to seek a renegotiation while the structure and format of both tournaments remain in place for a further two years until the end of the 2013/14 season.

"ERC received formal applications on 1 June 2012 from the Federation Francaise de Rugby, the Ligue Nationale de Rugby and Premiership Rugby for such a renegotiation."

Ireland’s provinces have lifted the 24-team Heineken Cup five times during the last seven seasons and England claim the RaboDirect Pro12, because it doesn’t have relegation and each country is automatically allocated Euro places, allows them to rest players so they are fresh for big matches, allegedly giving them an advantage.

McCafferty said: “Our preference, or the proposals we have made, is that it would be the top six from each of the three leagues (Premiership, French Top 14 and RaboDirect), plus the two winners of the competitions from the previous season.

“You can see on all fronts it’s a merit-based qualification, which is not the case currently.”

Premiership Rugby upped the ante last week by announcing a controversial new £152 million television deal with BT Vision that threatens turmoil in the European game.

European Rugby Cup, who organise the Heineken and Amlin tournaments, responded by unveiling a new four-year deal deal with current live broadcaster Sky.

And it claimed Premiership Rugby breached IRB regulations by negotiating European rights.

Under terms agreed with Premiership Rugby, BT Vision have been sold rights for a three-year period from 2014 to screen live European games involving top English clubs, while their domestic competition arrangement starts next season.

That has effectively sounded a death knell for the blue riband Heineken Cup tournament, although the RFU has said it had not consented to Premiership Rugby granting European broadcasting rights, casting doubt over a major section of the new TV deal.

France’s Top 14 clubs have demanded a swift resolution to the schism that threatens the future of European rugby.

Negotiations between ERC stakeholders at the Dublin meeting will be of critical importance after Patrick Wolff, the vice-president of the French National Rugby League, revealed the French want quick answers over the TV rights issue.

Wolff has set a December deadline for a final agreement to be reached.

“We want a quick answer. If we waste two years on the TV rights everyone will lose – Celts, English and French,” he said.

“We don’t want any battles in the law courts. We hope all these stories that have emerged are just the usual pressure before the start of negotiations.

“If that is the case then there is a chance to finish before the end of the year.

“It is not our understanding that ERC only have the right to negotiate TV rights. At the meeting we want to know exactly who has this right.

“We think it will be very easy for this to be decided. We want an answer from the English and ERC.

“We want more information about the deal, mainly what part of the contract is dedicated to the Heineken Cup and what types of TV rights have been sold.

“Then the French clubs will do their best to reach an understanding.”

“Regardless of any TV contract, what is important to the French clubs is that a European competition is built with the best clubs.

“That means English clubs and of course the Celtic clubs as well. We want to play against the French and English clubs.

“We are not considering our own TV deal at the moment. We are not following the wind – whether it is a Celtic or English wind.

“We won’t follow things blindly, we consider the whole and want the stakeholders to stick together.

“The Heineken Cup is a very good competition and we don’t want to kill it.”

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